Mary Sharratt is an American writer currently living in England. A review of her third book, The Vanishing Point - for which she's undertaken a book tour in costume (hence the photo) - is coming soon.
Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer:
Summarizing a 369-page book in 15 words is very difficult, but I'll try!
"A 17th century woman searches for her sister who has vanished in the Maryland wilderness."
Where do you like to write your books (in bed, a coffee shop, an office)?
I write in my study, which looks out on a sheep pasture. In the background, there's Pendle Hill, famous for its legends of the Lancashire Witches and of George Fox, who climbed the hill to receive the vision that inspired him to found the Quakers. The surrounding area was also the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. There's so much history here, which is a real inspiration for my historical fiction. When I'm blocked, I can go down to the fence and commiserate with the sheep who come in hope of treats. If sheep could read, I would have a huge cult following.
Often my writing process is aided by mind-altering substances, such as strong coffee and chocolate. Especially chocolate. There is always a bar of Cote d'Or in my desk. I write my first drafts longhand with a Lamy fountain pen. I love the physicality of writing and the sound of pen on paper. And with all that physicality, you need chocolate.
Your favourite chick-lit book?
This may or may not count as chick-lit, but Mary McCarthy's novel, The Group, seems like the prototype of the "girls about town" narrative. Originally published in 1963, the novel concerns a clique of eight women who graduate from Vassar in 1933 and how their lives evolve. The book covers the ins and outs of dating, sex, birth control, career, marriage, and child-rearing. The tone is light and satirical, and the book addresses issues that feel fresh and contemporary. One of the characters, for example, appeases her "progressive" pediatrician husband by submitting to a tyrannical breastfeeding regime. It appears there's nothing new about the breast vs. bottle debate, or about young parents allowing child rearing manuals written by "experts" to silence their own natural instincts.
Your favourite female heroine (if different from above!), and why?
There are so many heroines I love, so it's tough to pick just one. Lily Briscoe in Virginia Woolf's novel To the Lighthouse has a special place in my heart. She's an artist struggling to find herself and take herself seriously as a painter in a society that diminishes women with artistic ambitions.
What tips would you give to any of our readers who want to become writers?
Sit down in a chair and write. Try to write every day. Most people, if they cut out the time-wasters in their life, can commit to an hour or two a day, even if they have to write on the train to work or during their lunch break. Books and classes can help, but it all boils down to how much time and effort you are willing to commit to your own writing. Develop a schedule you can stick to. Enjoy the process as much as you can. It's so much more rewarding than watching bad television!
Writing groups can be wonderful, but try to find one with people in it who actually write and don't just talk about writing. And don't forget to read. Our greatest teachers are other authors who get it right. Buy books and give them to friends. You want to support the industry that you hope will one day support you. If every aspiring writer bought one new book a month, not just best-sellers but work by new and less famous authors, the publishing industry would go through a sea change and be encouraged to publish more new writers.
What are you reading at the moment?
Emma Darwin's lovely debut novel, The Mathematics of Love, which I'm reviewing for the Historical Novels Review. I'm enjoying it.
What are you working on now? (If you can give us a hint!)
My current work-in-progress is a ghost story called The Art of Memory. Inspired by the 19th century English gothic novel and pre-Raphaelite paintings, the book is set in and around Manchester, England during the Industrial Revolution and the present day. The theme is that the past never dies—the souls lost in the tumult of historical progress and change keep haunting and exerting their influence on contemporary lives.
The novel concerns a dysfunctional American family that experiences a devastating blast from the distant past when the father, Will, goes to Manchester on business. He encounters a mysterious young woman who calls herself Angel. She lures him into her flat, serves him drugged tea, and then steals not his money or his credit cards but snapshots of his wife and daughter. When circumstances force Will to relocate to Manchester, his 16-year-old daughter begins to receive mysterious communications from a stranger who speaks to her deepest dreams and desires. It is up to Will to try to disentangle his daughter from this web. In doing so, he must unravel Angel’s true identity and purpose.